Andy Florance

Andy Florance founded CoStar Group, Inc., in 1987, fundamentally changing the way commercial real estate professionals access, use and share information. Through CoStar, Andy pioneered the concept of commercial real estate firms outsourcing research functions to a third-party information provider, combining the operational efficiencies of a computer-based information system with the more complete, standardized and higher quality property information produced by the industry’s first independent research organization. Andy's enduring commitment to innovation was recently recognized by Forbes magazine, which named CoStar among the 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies in the world, placing it among the top 10 companies within the Software & Services category in its most recent annual list.

As Founder and Chief Executive, Andy has directed CoStar’s successful expansion from start-up, to its successful IPO in July 1998, and to its market-leading position today as a publicly traded enterprise (Nasdaq: CSGP) and the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. CoStar’s major holdings include LoopNet, the most heavily trafficked online commercial real estate marketplace with more than 10 million registered members, and Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder.com and ApartmentHomeLiving.com, which together form the premier online apartment resource for renters seeking great apartment homes and provide property managers and owners with a proven platform for marketing their properties. CoStar operates websites with over 22 million unique monthly visitors in aggregate (as of January 2016.) Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Company maintains offices throughout the U.S., in Europe and in Toronto with a staff of approximately 2,600 worldwide.

Throughout his career, Andy has been a leader in raising awareness of energy efficiency and sustainability within the commercial property sector. He conceived and co-authored the first comprehensive analysis of leasing and sales activity in energy-efficient office buildings in the United States. The study, which was published in the Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, was selected by the American Real Estate Society as the “Best Paper” published in the prestigious academic real estate journal in 2008. The groundbreaking study was also cited as a critical factor in CoStar Group’s selection as the only commercial real estate-related company to win an ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2009.